Two finalists hoping to land a feasibility study contract made their pitch to Palmerton Area School District’s board of directors Tuesday night.

Representatives from McKissick Architecture of Harrisburg and RLPS Architects of Lancaster got a half-hour each to unveil their proposals as Palmerton looks to embark on its first such planning initiative since 2006.

RLPS came in as the cheaper of the two studies at just under $14,000 with the option to include a demographic component at just under $5,000. McKissick’s study would cost the district just over $18,300 with the demographic component coming in at an additional $6,375.

“I liked RLPS because they were not just looking at our buildings but they also talked a lot about education,” director Brandon Mazepa said. “They looked at how the classrooms could be used based on the different learning types of our students. I think what they can bring to the table is really unique.”

According to the district’s request for proposals, the study scope includes a complete physical survey of all district buildings, stadium (including turf field), and athletic fields. The study will also feature capacity planning including how many students are in each building and class sizes.

Both companies spoke of a multi-month process including data collection, community engagement and a ranking of any recommendations which could range from building renovations to grade reconfiguration.

Board member Earl Paules said the demographic aspect of the study is most important to him.

“I want to make sure we’re putting kids where we can make it most feasible for us with what we currently have without adding anything,” Paules said. “No matter which group we choose, we need to get the community involved. It’s our decision to make at the end of the day no matter what they try to push on us. We know the town better than they do.”

Several other area districts awarded feasibility study contracts within the last year. Panther Valley hired KCBA Architects of Center Valley to do its study in August 2023 for $8,780.

Jim Thorpe awarded its contract to EI Associates in February at a cost not to exceed $2,500.

“We are passionate about getting our process right,” Chris Linkey of RLPS told Palmerton’s board on Tuesday. “Most of our data collection would take place in early-to-mid summer and we would aim to have our recommendations to you in the fall. We want to have a clear and open dialogue throughout the process and that includes forming a steering committee with the key players.”

Vern McKissick, meanwhile, said his firm has worked with Hazleton, Scranton and Jim Thorpe on creating master plans and would bring full transparency to the study in Palmerton.

“We don’t know what these studies are going to tell us until we really get into it,” McKissick said. “We have no agendas. We are very straightforward. We want you to make your decisions based on a full understanding of what the study tells us. It’s worked well for us over the years.”

“I liked how McKissick took into account the historical nature of our community and attachment to our buildings,” director Kris Schaible said. “They really seemed to look at how we can reconfigure those buildings and not just go directly to new construction.”

Schaible said she’d also be open to RLPS completing the study.

“If we put building preservation on our must have list with them then we’re essentially getting the same thing in a different way,” she said.

The district plans to vote on a firm to complete the study at its April 16 meeting.